User blog:Darkus Rayne/As Seen Through Crystal Eyes, Chapter 16
We ran quickly down the mountain path and into the bright city of Crescentia. The bright glow of the streetlights is blinding at first. I never imagined Crescentia was this lit up. I'd always seen the glow in the sky from it all the way in Stalaria. Though, it never gave the impression that the lights would reach this intensity. I imagined it was different if you resided here for more than a few hours, but just running through here made my eyes water. "Things are a bit quiet here. I haven't seen a guard yet." Snow speaks for all of our worries. "Aqua doesn't have many soldiers stationed here. Only five are required to be on patrol at a time. They likely guard the path to Valer over the one to Stalaria. It's significantly more dangerous in the forest around Valer." Sarah's words make me afraid for our journey to Valer. We had gotten lucky in the forest below Stalaria, but if they had to keep guard to hold the demon front back, then how would we make it to Valer alive? None of us had any defensive abilities that I knew of. "There's the gate to the forest!" Amelia shouts excitedly. Though, we're really just trading the danger of being caught with the danger of being mauled and eaten alive. "Sarah, I'm still not seeing any guards." CP shouts at her. "Take the opportunity. They don't know we're on the run!" Sarah shouts loud enough for us to hear. Though I doubt anyone trying to listen would hear her words exactly. Though, that's not really a fear anyway as no one seems to be awake, evident by the empty streets. It's a ghost town here. We reach the gate quickly and are shocked to see that there is no one there either. "Sarah..." Snow begins, but is quickly interrupted "Look. This is a blessing, they're not patrolling this part right now, we don't have to answer questions, we need to move fast." She yells, running ahead. We all share worried glances before continuing on after her. The forest seems to be getting brighter, but that only makes the demon activity noticeable. With every step closer we get to Valer, shaking bushes and breaking branches are made known. While we're not exactly being hunted, we're being watched closely. "Remember your training..." Amelia repeats to herself before smacking herself in the forehead. "I don't remember my training!" She shouts causing the demons, who were being quite passive, to react aggressively. A wolf-like beast jumps clear over our group and lands right in front of Sarah, standing on it's hind legs. It sniffs at the headmistress before roaring in her face. I'm shaking now. I had fought a demon before, but it wasn't as aggressive as these seemed to be. "We're surrounded." Snow says quietly. "Back to back, no blind spots, you hear me?" She pushes us into formation. I'm forced beside Snow and Micah. I can still see the demon that has confronted Sarah. No movements have been made by either of them, but both are observing intensely. "These demons..." Sarah begins. "They travel in packs. Their weakness is the left chest area. It's easy to hit, and it's also easy to miss. Be careful, if you miss they will overwhelm you. With every hit they take, they get faster. Do you understand?" Sarah's tone has become urgent, causing my pulse to begin racing. "I have a question." Asher begins. "How many are normally to a pack?" I hear Sarah sigh deeply. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask." She shouts, flipping her wrist, revealing a knife up her sleeve. She slashes at the demon, hitting it right in it's weak spot. "Be on guard! Here they come!" Sarah springs into action along with everyone else. I'm the only one left standing in what was once our circle. I'm not ready for this, I shouldn't have agreed to follow her. Why was she pulling me along to die? Why did I willingly follow her off of Stalaria? "Twila!" Asher shouts, followed by a gunshot. Perfect aim. A wolf falls beside me, curling up and breathing it's last breath before bursting into a puff of red smoke that, instead of floating to the sky, was absorbed into the ground. I wasn't taught much about demons, let alone what happens to them when they die. I was pulled out of the gym much too fast for me to even consider what happened to the creature pretending to be my father. "Move your ass, Florentina!" Jeremy yells, but I can't see anything. Where are they attacking from? How are they finding them so quickly? Where was I supposed to hit them again? I can't think clearly with this pressure weighing me down. I'm face to face with one of them before long. It glares at me for a few seconds and then roars in my face. I don't move, fear settles and suddenly I can't hear. My breathing becomes harsh and it feels as if the air is being ripped from my lungs. I look around and my life flashes before my eyes as one of these creatures lunges toward me. I brace myself for the impact that will likely take my life away, but it never comes. I hear a muffled whine as the creature falls to the ground. Now's my chance! I regain composure and quickly form an icicle sword. I pull my arm back, ready to jab the sword into its weak spot. It gets up slowly and I waste no time. I force my arm forward, but am stopped by an invisible force. My panic returns and I feel my breaths becoming alarmingly shorter. This invisible force has shattered my icicle sword, and I'm too weak to form another one. I fall to my knees, gasping for air as the sensation of coolness comes over me. I can hear again, and suddenly my breathing isn't so harsh. "Someone find Amelia." Sarah says, stabbing the beast that threatened me in it's weak spot. "She's fast, but she cracked under pressure too." Sarah's eyes turn to me. " What was that? I've trained you so well! What happened?" "I panicked!" I gasp, holding my stomach, trying to stop myself from vomiting. "I forgot everything. I tried to attack, but something stopped me! My sword shattered!" I scream, still somewhat gasping for air. "We killed off that entire pack, but I can't find Amelia." CP shouts from further in the woods. "I'm here!" She shouts, jumping down from a nearby tree. "I'm so sorry." Her face is streaming with tears. "It's alright. The immediate danger is gone, but that can't happen again. We need you both." Snow says soothingly. "Twila... how did you do that, by the way?" Amelia asks me, pointing to the shattered remains of my sword. "I didn't do anything!" I respond, getting back on my feet. "It had to have been you, Twil." Asher begins, placing a hand on my shoulder. "These beasts are only fierce because of their feral nature. They don't have any powers." He hugs me tightly and pats my back. "You have another ability." "No! I had enough trouble controlling the ice!" I lower my head, letting a few tears fall. I'm an emotional wreck. That encounter left me torn on many things. My confidence in myself being the primary item I had lost. "We don't have time to discuss this." Sarah sighs, motioning us to continue forward. "We're really close to Valer." "So how do we defeat the beasts in Valer?" Micah asks. "You said they eat the Demonian people. I think we should know about their weaknesses before we actually fight them... Lest we have more of us suffer panic attacks as Twila and Amelia already have." "Right. Sorry, I shoud have told you the types of demons we would be likely to face. The demons in Valer have no real name. Not many of our soldiers know about them. Before I reveal this, be warned that you asked for it." Sarah sighs deeply now, rubbing her head. "These demons don't have a single weakness... but rather, a collective one. To kill them, you must strike the right ankle, the chest, the abdomen, and the head. Not all at once, but within a minute. Their ability is what makes them fierce. Not only can they regenerate rather quickly, but they also have an affinity for fire manipulation." Great! I'd be ultimately useless towards these! "How are we supposed to strike at four places at once?" Typhoon asks. Fighting would be harder for her as her medic ability seemed to be the only one she has. "Well for people like Asher, it won't be a challenge. Regardless, we're not splitting up. We'll strike together." Sarah laughs as if this was common sense. "Yeah, we'll be fine!" CP encourages, falling flat on his face. A few of us laugh, but Ayomide's face is frozen in horror. "Yoma?" Amelia tries to get her attention but fails. I follow her gaze and am immediately horrified myself. "Now Twila too? Come on guys, this isn't funny, what's wrong?" Micah shouts at us. I only point my finger as I'm am speechless. Slowly everyone becomes sickened by what CP has tripped over. A bloody Demonian foot lies in the grass. It's dressed in a black shoe, disguising it unless moved. "What the hell..." Snow begins, squinting at the forest beside us. "We've reached the Valer wall..." So we're pretty much in Valer. that means the carnivorous beasts must have already attacked someone. "Guys... Check this out." CP calls us over. He'd walked slightly ahead of us. A great amount of sunlight is shining through a gap in the forest. Though upon closer inspection, I see that the gap is actually the abandoned kingdom of Valer. I'm sick to my stomach as the smell of death fills the air. Corpses line the long abandoned streets of Valer. Blood splatters coat walls and fills the colorless city with carnage. "Who... Did this?" Sarah's voice breaks as she sees the horrible sight. I'm nearly in tears as I'm observing the area. Stalarian military jackets are on a few of the bodies. Not many of them, but enough for them to be noticeable. Does that mean that these are the Crescentian citizens? "No..." Amelia whispers. "He didn't deserve this!" Amelia screams, running into the city. She reaches the body of a male who seems to be about twenty-five. She doesn't fall, she simply stands silently. "Brother... I'm sorry." She cries. A roar rips through the area, putting us all on guard. All of us except Amelia, whose eyes never leave the corpse of her brother. "Amelia, you need to get back here!" Typhoon says, trying to be as quiet as possible to keep the beasts lurking in the city away. But Amelia doesn't care. She's frantic. I walk into the city, knowing that she needs comfort. "Twila, be careful." Sarah says, walking a short distance behind me. "I know what she's going through." I say softly, not slowing my pace. I'm maybe three feet away from her when another roar sounds off. Only this time it's closer. A fast creature fills the gap between Amelia and I. It roars in her face before turning to me, kicking me down. I'm frozen in fear, but am quickly covered in the blood of a friend. The beast clamps it's jaws on Amelia's neck, coating the ground below her, as well as Sarah and I, in the blood of our comrade. Her body falls slowly, her eyes full of pain as she gasps for air she can no longer breathe. Sarah is frozen in shock. It's Asher who reacts quickly, firing his loud ability perfectly. Shooting every weak spot clean. His accuracy is perfect. The beast falls forward, crushing the body of Amelia's brother. Typhoon and Snow rush to Amelia, their glowing hands trying to save whatever life she has left. "The damage is too great... I can't save her." Snow cries and leans down to hug Amelia. "We can't give up!" Typhoon screams, still trying to heal the missing piece of Amelia's neck. "Typhoon..." Ayomide sighs, lifting her away from Amelia. "We can't let her die like this. She's suffering." Micah, whose tone betrays the brokenness of his face, adds, turning to Asher. "Yeah... I get it..." Asher lowers his head, for a moment, all that is heard is Amelia's gasping. Asher walks slowly towards her, her body doesn't seem close to giving out, but it's only a matter of time before the lack of oxygen kills her. "Amelia..." He cries. "We're gonna miss you so much." I touch my hand to her face, staring into her accepting eyes. "When you get to the other side... Could you tell my Mom I miss her? And that I'm really sorry." I cry, I look back towards Sarah. "Could you also tell her to take care of Miss Ramona? Someone needs to return the favor." My face is soaked in tears now, mixing with the blood splatters. "We'll see you again someday." She smiles and closes her eyes for a few seconds. She opens them slowly and takes a glance at all of us mouthing the words 'thank you'. I close my eyes and hug her tightly as Asher's loud gunshot echoes through the kingdom. Category:Blog posts